It’s an interesting time for the Internet. As I mentioned in this week’s Shifting Conversations post, much of the amazing potential of the Web that many of us felt a quarter century ago now feels like it’s being overwhelmed by anger and stupidity and silliness. And as the Web grows more complex, so too do the challenges that schools face in preparing kids for the worlds they are entering.
In our 30th podcast, Bruce and I riff a bit more on the past, present, and future of the Internet. We both feel that there is still great potential in our ability to connect and create and communicate online that are far superior to how we can do that in our face to face worlds. But we also both worry that unless we start attending more fully to the challenges that the Internet now poses, we may put our democracy at risk.
That’s a big statement, but as you’ll hear me say at the end, this is now the real work of schools. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the facts that a) the Internet will continue to become a more and more important place in the lives of our kids, 2) that most of us are illiterate when it comes to understanding these shifts at a practical level, and 3) that if schools don’t attack this problem head on and with immediacy, the liklihood of things getting any better soon is slim.
We hope you enjoy listening!
(And by the way, the discount code we allude to in the podcast is “500off.”)
